The Zombie Apocalypse

OK kids, look out your window.  Do you see that group of horribly disfigured individuals walking down the street towards you? No that's not your Aunt Ida's bride club. That's the coming Zombie Hoard.

What. Do. You. Do.

How we're going to survive the seemingly inevitable coming of the undead hoards has become a very popular topic in recent years.

Movies like "Zombieland" and "Shaun of the Dead" provide us with an interesting take on how to survive, while games like "Left 4 Dead" and "Half-Life 2" give us that video game training. Even shows like NPR's "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" (the comedic news quiz show) has referenced a, sadly fictional, Zombie Apocalypse Bootcamp.

It's also been a topic of conversation I've had in many different social settings.  When I was still in school my roommates and I would discuss how we would do things around campus and what would make for the most defensible position around.  At work I've discussed how we could survive in the store fairly well against the zombie hoards, or try our luck running to the nearest Armory (located just a few blocks away) and be very well armed.

I've also had debates...well discussions really, on the differences in zombies as well.  Do we think they'll be slow moving zombies? Much easier to get away from, slightly more annoying because you have to really completely dismember them. Or will they be the runners? Faster, but slightly easier to kill.  Can they swim? Do they only come out at night?

All of these are important questions that need to be answered in order to come across the right plan.  Obviously a shotgun will do a good job at long range, or even close up.  A chainsaw would really get you protected close up, but leaves you open to infection from zombie blood as it gets on you, so then you have to get a protective suit.  There are just so many variables so the really important thing to be aware of is to be flexible with your plans.

Also remember "Double tap to make sure they're really dead"

Artistic Mediums (Part I)

What do you think of when you think “artistic mediums”?

Music. Literature. Movies. Painting. Sculptures. These are the ones that I would think of when asked this question.  I would venture a guess that this is the case for most people out and about these days as well.  I’d also say that when I think of the phrase “artistic mediums”, I think of the snobby aristocrats who hold wine parties and debate how tortured Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky was by his suppressed homosexuality.  

These same people are the ones who would look at something like a comic book, video game, or cartoon as “low brow” and not “art” at all.  This, however, isn’t true. More and more society is accepting these “alternative” forms of art, and are recognizing them for what they are.  

We’ve gotten to a point where a single comic strip can address things as light hearted as “oh man that chick is super cute, but I am too shy to talk to her”, all the way up to “I witnessed my dad kill himself in our back yard”. From as mundane as “this video game sucks” to “my apartment burned down and I lost everything I owned”.  

The way people access comics have changed as well. It used to be that the only way that you got to see a comic was if it was being published by the big companies or carried in a newspaper. This has changed though. The new sub-genre of “web-comics” has emerged to take a stand in the foreground of modern media and art. While some people think that web-comics are only for the tech nerds out there, it’s truly amazing how many different topics are out there. If you can think of it, somebody has probably made a comic of it and it’s out there on the web for you to view. 

If not, get sketching.

Music

Music has an interesting place in our society. It's something that unifies people from many different ways of life and gives them a common ground to bond over. It can also be very polarizing for those same people.

I like to think that I have a very open mind when it comes to music, and that the music that I listen to on a regular basis is fairly eclectic. My iPod, when on shuffle, is almost as likely to go from "Chop Suey" (System of a Down) to "Landed" (Ben Folds) as it is from "Kids" (MGMT) to Mahler's 3rd Symphony.

A while ago I posted a link on my Facebook to a song by Mumford and Sons called "Little Lion Man" (seen below). I just found it to be an amusing song with a unique style to it. It's by no means on the same artistic level as songs like Parker's "Anthropology" or Monk's "Round Midnight", it still fills a spot for me in my music listening needs.

I don't need to constantly be thinking at a high level about my music. Sometimes I just want something simple that is going to be relaxing and easy to listen to.  I have the ability to analyze magnificent symphonies, dissect critiques, and talk intelligently on the choices of using a secondary dominant as a pivot point to shift to a new key (yes this all sounds very stuck up I know).  This doesn't mean that I don't enjoy the strumming of a banjo and the sounds of an Englishman singing folk music.

Music is not exclusive.  It isn't something where you can only be a fan of one genre.  In my opinion music listening would get far too boring if that were the case.

In any case, music is personal preferences.  While I may find a song fantastic and something I could listen to over and over again, another person might think it's the worst bit of aural drivel ever created by mankind.  Awesome.  I'm glad to hear you have a strong viewpoint on this, but don't come crying to me when I call your whiny repetitive Justin Bieber song utter crap.  It's just my opinion, and I'm allowed to have it.

Steam Punk

That's right we're getting right into it here.  No "hey so like welcome to my blog" bullshit here.

Steam-punk is an awesome sub-genre within the Sci-fi world.  There are so many different stories that, if retold in a Steam-punk universe, would have a completely different (yet still awesome) feel to them.


Lets try the golden Science Fiction movie standby, Star Wars.

"But RSS", one might cry. "You can't possibly improve upon the sheer genius that is George Lucas' masterpiece".

Ah my good reader you must realize that I am not attempting to improve upon anything, just put my own little spin on it in this new fashion.

First lets take a look at the name "Star Wars".  The easy change would be "Steam Wars", and to me this actually is a slightly more descriptive name than the original.  Yes the original took place in space amongst the stars, but it doesn't quite show exactly how the war is being fought.

Imagine, if you will, the opening of "Steam Wars".  Instead of Princess Leia's starship being chased by the Imperial Star Destroyer we have a carriage being pulled by mechanical horses, charging through the desert with steam pouring out of their nostrils.  Behind them a black, menacing, rugged off-road car with large tubes pointing skyward, billowing clouds of white.  Out of each lean goggled men firing laser guns at each other a puff of smoke being emitted with each bolt arcing across the desert.

Instead of R2-D2 storing a floppy disk (because lets face it that's what it was) he actually takes what looks like a rolled up piece of parchment and stores it inside of a hidden compartment.  When we actually see the parchment get delivered to Ben Kenobi (decked out in the latest monocle ware), we see that it's not the traditional parchment, but rather a moving picture that is displayed on the paper.

That's just the tip of how this adaptation could go.  There's obviously so much more that could happen with the lightsabers, Chewbacca, and of course the sinister Darth Vader (there could be some awesome interpretations of his suit in the steampunk world)

How does that not sound badass to you?